Councillors have questioned why a Lincolnshire hospital trust only has a target for 45% of its frontline staff to have the flu vaccination.
But the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals Trust (ULTH) said the target is based on a national rate and it remains above many other hospital trusts.
Flu jab take up at hospitals was discussed. Image: RADAR/NHS.
Members of Lincolnshire Council Council’s health scrutiny committee heard that the hospital trust had the target in place in response to a falling flu vaccination rate among its frontline staff over the last two years.
But Coun Debbie Armiger (Labour), who sits on the City of Lincoln Council and represents the Park ward, questioned the target and how it was measured.
At a meeting on Wednesday, November 19, she said: “Is it right that the target is set as a target of 45% of staff having received that flu vaccine. Do you count how many have had the vaccine?”
Stephen Clapton, head of immunisation and screening at the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, said: “The flu vaccine amongst staff has been declining over the last couple of years and that’s why the target is where it is.
“What the national team asked for was a 5% increase from 2024/25 and that was done on a provider basis, so every provider was expected to achieve that.
“We do keep track of where we are with staff vaccines. I’m really pleased to say that, for healthcare workers as a whole, Lincolnshire has got the best uptake across the Midlands system.
“That’s gone really well and one of the things we achieved was that we maintained our system’s seasonal vaccination programme right through the summer so we started talking about it really early.”
But Coun Christopher Reeve (Reform UK), who represents the Scotter Rural division, said it should be up to staff whether or not they get vaccinated and should not be compulsory.
He said: “There was a situation during Covid where staff were disciplined, and I believe even fired, for not taking up the vaccines.
“That’s a very personal choice to have a vaccine. You’re injecting something into somebody’s body.
“I have concerns that if staff don’t want to take up the vaccine – they’re made to declare that they’re not having the vaccine.
“I think it shouldn’t even be on somebody’s personal records, whether they have or haven’t taken up the vaccine because that could then be held against them at some point if they’ve chosen for whatever reason not to have the vaccine.”
But Coun Karen Lee (Labour), who represents the Ermine and Cathedral division, said she believed that frontline hospital staff should get vaccinated to keep patients safe.
She said: “I do understand the necessity of that. Anybody who joins the NHS knows that when they take that job that there is a requirement to have vaccinations and it’s not just Covid.”
She went on to say that while hospital staff are encouraged to have lots of different injections, she believed it’s for a “very good reason”.
She added: “For anyone whose relative goes into hospital, you want to have the confidence that your relative isn’t going to catch Covid or other germs when they go in there.”
Coun Robert Kendrick (Conservative), who represents the Metheringham Rural division, said he used to work with patients and has always felt it was important for him to get vaccinated.
He said: “For 30 years I used to have my jab. Although I wasn’t a clinician, I did work with patients, so I thought it was important I protected myself and the patients I came into contact with.
“I probably say it every year. I’m quite amazed that less than half of our hospital staff actually take that up because I think it’s such an important thing to have.”
Mr Clapton said: “It’s a personal decision. Staff vaccines are not compulsory at all.
“We do know the overall number, but that isn’t monitored on an individual basis, so I can’t see if anyone working as a frontline healthcare worker has actually had the vaccine or not.
“We monitor it through a staff record. We know the total number of staff and we know the total number of people vaccinated. We don’t know the names of people who are not vaccinated.
“What we’re trying to do this year is really provide education around the benefits of being vaccinated and create an atmosphere where staff have time and feel educated enough to decide themselves if they want the vaccine.
“Obviously, from a protecting patients perspective and protecting staff, I am strongly in favour of staff being vaccinated but it’s not compulsory.”